In the first part of this two part post inspired by science-journalist and author Angela Saini’s write-ups on the topic of science and superstition in India, I explained my views on the real problem plaguing science education in India. In this second part, I look more closely at Angela’s writings.

What got me interested in Angela’s forthcoming book, Geek Nation (available March 3, 2011 in the UK), has been outlined in one of her blog posts, titled “”http://angelasaini.blogspot.com/2011/02/god-confusion.html" style=“text-decoration: none;”>The god confusion". She indicates:

One of the more controversial themes in Geek Nation is the impact that the rise of science and technology is having on superstition and faith in India (which is, after all, said to be the most religious place in the world).

This happens to be an issue that has, frankly, troubled me for a long time. Angela offered a sorta-kinda justification in her post:

The ideas we’re instilled with as kids are far more difficult to abandon when we grow older than some rationalists would like to think they are. And of course I know lots of intelligent, rational people who cling to faith (and many more who read their horoscopes)… for many, it’s comforting and reassuring.

I have listed my views on the topic. I am, unfortunately, not aware if Angela is a scientist by training or not (Her Blogger profile mentions her industry as ‘Communications or Media’). If she is not, it’d certainly be refreshing to get a perspective from a non-scientist on the strange, and strangely easy, coexistence of science and superstitions in India – all the more reason to wait eagerly for the book.

Pending the arrival of the book, I turned to the column that Angela has written for the New Humanist, titled the same as her blog post, “The god confusion”, in order to get a feel of what was to come in the book. It is well-written and insightful. Angela’s conversational style is a pleasure to read. She has explored the situation from a personal as well as historical perspective, noting past efforts at injecting rationality into the Indian societal mores. She has examined a couple of the reasons why the juxtaposition of science and superstition seems to have endured in the Indian psyche, such as high levels of adult illiteracy and the apparent fluidity of Hinduism (which is the predominant religion in India). She has questioned the foundations of a so-called spiritual resurgence among India’s urban or semi-urban, educated youth.

But there is also something oddly wrong and out of sync in her piece. It is almost as if the confusion she underscores in her article is not the confusion that the Indian people appear to face in having to choose between science and irrationality; it is rather a confusion that is her own, as if reflecting her own ambivalence about the relative place of science and religion in her life – perhaps borne out of the confusion of ideas from her childhood, the invisible-yet-present struggle between her unashamedly geeky, rational and skeptical father and horoscope-wielding mother (judging from her own words).

In odd places in Angela’s otherwise interesting account, a strange credulity, a desire to look at the Indian science situation through rose-tinted glasses, has shone through – evident in the facile ease with which she refuses to acknowledge what her inner rationalist says. When she passed by the Swaminarayan Akshardham temple in New Delhi, a sprawling religious edifice purportedly for showcasing “the essence of India’s ancient architecture, traditions and timeless spiritual messages”, the rationalist in Angela did note that “In a poor country, it’s a sumptuous and expensive testament to faith”, and yet she is “impressed” by the motivations of the people who built the place. Is it really that hard to imagine how many poor, hungry people could have been fed and clothed, how many little girls given the light of education, how many endeavors – towards empowerment of women, the disadvantaged, and the marginalized – financed through the amount of money and/or effort spent on building an edifice that does nothing but look pretty and rehash some perennially ineffectual words?

Towards the end of the article, Angela also whimpers about how difficult it is to let go of religion in India. Don’t get me wrong. Her observation is astute when she notes:

In India that struggle is multiplied because the culture is so dominated by it. Beliefs are burned into the minds of children – Hindus often keep shrines at home, pray daily and have their fates decided by their horoscopes at birth. It’s common to appeal to the gods to guide you in your choices and to give you luck. Not only this, superstition and religion are big business: astrologers have their own television programmes (sic); homeopathic drugs and traditional medicines are sold in the millions; and fashionable gurus attract stadia full of fat-walleted worshippers. Ditching god isn’t easy when you’re surrounded by an infrastructure built on belief.

(It may be difficult, Angela, but it is not impossible. I have done it and freed myself from the shackles of religion. It is an unbelievably liberating feeling.)

However, it is important to understand that unless Indians grow up as a nation, unless the unholy reliance on faith and superstitions is burnt at the altar of reason and sanity (the religious imagery of this allegory seems oddly appropriate here!!), unless rationality and skepticism is made the mainstay of the basic education, including science education, the nation can never grow, prosper and thrive intellectually – no matter how ‘desperately religious’ modern, so-called educated Indians try to rationalize their transcendental bond with faith and superstitions, no matter how much they attempt to reconcile scientific facts with fundamentally incompatible religious stories.

But perhaps Angela’s problem – despite her obvious understanding of the crux of the situation – has a different root. She epitomizes it when she engages in a rather disappointing, spacious, strawman-beating statement in her blog post, where she says:

Yes, the sympathy. Angela’s article’s title The god confusion may possibly be a play on Dawkins’ The god delusion, but the former ain’t nothing like the latter. Nowhere has Richard indicated that he is not sympathetic to the emotions associated with religious belief in people; in fact, in The God Delusion, he has dedicated chapter after chapter towards understanding the basis of religious belief, of faith.

But Angela’s ‘sympathy’ towards the faithful – likely stemming from her own internal confusion – seems to have effectively blinded her towards the fact that rational atheists object to the religious beliefs, myths and superstitions per se, and not to the individuals holding those beliefs – until and unless those beliefs lead to harm and injury to others (and they do; there is enough evidence of that in the real world – but that’s a topic for another day).

6 Comments

Quality work, Kausik: informative and insightful. But interesting how India is now an emerging economic power, along with the large (catholic) country I’m currently holed up in – Brazil – and China. These nations’ re-positionings in the global order necessitated major advances in their science, technology and engineering (rational) capabilities. Whether this will subsequently feed down into the education of the remote poor of their massive populations… ? Well, look at the USA: the most technologically advanced nation on earth, but still awash with irrational beliefs. Fascinating, eh?

Thanks for the note, Lee. Yes, it is quite fascinating. You must be aware how in the US religiously-motivated attacks have started with renewed vigor on science, technology, education, fairness, equality, along with every other progressive liberal ideal. If these continue unabated, if the tyranny of the ignorami truly gets established, then it wouldn’t be far when the nation’s vaunted leadership position in technological advances goes to someone else.

And about India’s emergence as an economic power, at least in the South East Asia: It is true India has come a long way. However, whenever I hear these words, ‘economy’ and ‘power’, I become wary of possible spins. What good is emerging as an economic power when the benefits thereof never trickle down to the lowest common denominators? A religious society, any society beholden to irrational mores, will have inherent imbalances that will not allow for the stability required for true economic prosperity.

Since 1976, the word "Secular" has been enshrined in the Preamble to the Constitution of India. It is high time that the Indian governments paid heed to the Constitution and started pursuing secular policies and enacting secular laws, but oh, no – they wouldn’t. Because embracing true secularism would mean giving up region-based, caste-based, group-based petty politics; it would mean encouraging people to become more rational in their thinking and daily lives. Would the multi-million currency faith-based industries (organized religion is big business) stand for it? Nope. Nosireebob. And these are the pestilences that are eating away at the vitality of the nation, so that unless steps are taken to eradicate those, ‘economic power’ would remain an illusion, a pipe dream.

Angela Saini’s is speaking at Imperial College next Monday about Geek Nation. Apparently there will be books for sale there, as well as a giveaway! Hopefully after the event we can talk with someone who attended and continue this interesting debate.

Thank you for that link, Lee. Angela had pointed it out to me earlier via Twitter. Sadly, I can’t say I am greatly impressed by her perspective on this. There are several issues at hand here. First, I don’t know whether to be amused, surprised, assured or offended by the fact that the city "manager" – who helps with the planning of the city (Angela sternly reminded me on Twitter that he was not the planner but the manager) – is an American, one Mr. Wrighton. Prestigious Indian institutes churn out Engineering graduates every year by the shovelful & it still takes an American to plan/run an Indian city? Is this "progress" of India?

Angela also asked me if Americans can hire Indians, why I should consider it wrong for Indians to hire an American. For the record, I don’t. Logic demands that whenever there is a job, the best person should be chosen regardless of his or her nationality. But I see it with a touch of sadness (and perhaps a shade more irony) that the ‘best’ person had to be imported from another country. And coastal Lavasa is nothing like the Midwestern cities of the US where Mr. Wrighton appears to have honed his expertise. The project is currently stalled, embroiled in an issue that the Environment Ministry has raised – a very valid issue IMO, of the ecological and environmental impact of modernization of Lavasa, located amongst the forests of the Western Ghat mountain ranges. That the people associated with the Lavasa project appear to have embarked upon a project of this magnitude without sparing a thought to the possible environmental impact – I find that very telling and indicative of a myopic vision and lack of foresight. Under which light is that praiseworthy? How is this ‘progress’ as Angela seems to see it?